Seriously, what the hell is this? There are security rules, fine. But how can two security people working 20m from each other not apply the same rules?

Who knows, Jon?

But remember that the EU is attempting to regulate enormous swathes of the economic and social lives of over 450 million citizens in twenty-seven countries—but it cannot, apparently, co-ordinate between two related departments within the same building!

How can any sensible and pragmatic solution to the issue ... be met with a flat no?

Because that is the way that bureaucrats work. We know that the EU is needlessly bureaucratic—both in the Regulations and Directives that it insists on at a national level, but also within its own structures.

Look, I know that Jon supports the EU for mainly noble reasons but the trouble is that it just isn't ever going to work in the way that he wants it to. Even were the EU's aims not completely malign, you simply cannot plan an all-encompassing and effective government on this scale.

Jon Worth is correct. I have had some pretty awful and petty experiences here with various sections of our own Governments bureaucratic monster. What also happens is various parts of this monster play 'politics' with other parts of this monster to the detriment of the end user, us.

Serious question though: I have had similar experiences with petty bureaucrats all over the place. Isn't this sort of thing just inevitable with *any* bureaucracy, not just at the EU level?

--------------------------

Then why are you moaning about it then? Ahhh, it's because it happened to YOU I reckon. So you don't really care whether or not it's an infringement of the rights of the citizen, because that's what you get with any bureaucracy - is that OK then? If it is, stop moaning, and if it's not have a think about WHY you are moaning.

This is, in microcosm, why the argument for Big Government is so much bulldust. Bureaucracy is wasteful, oppressive and counterproductive by its very nature: keeping it to a bare minimum means keeping its negative effects to a minimum. Why on earth would anyone want lots of the bloody stuff?

Oh. Because such people live in a cosseted dreamworld where they and their lefty friends can drone on about the merits of Big Government while seldom, if ever, experiencing the reality of it.

Welcome to the EUSSR ,DICK !How naive.They naivety of this bloke's a laugh.ha ha ha ha ha ha .What a pratt.Anonymous ,well the way it is going now too bloody right.I mean I do not want to ,"summoned to Moscow ,read ,Brusselles)What a twat.